The United States government has demanded that Apple take an unprecedented step which threatens the security of their customers. They oppose this order, which has implications far beyond the legal case at hand.
The U.S. government has asked Apple for something they simply do not have, and something they consider too dangerous to create. They have asked Apple to build a backdoor to the iPhone. Specifically, the FBI wants Apple to make a new version of the iPhone operating system, circumventing several important security features, and install it on an iPhone recovered during the investigation of the terrorist attack. In the wrong hands, this software — which does not exist today — would have the potential to unlock any iPhone in someone’s physical possession.
In today’s digital world, the “key” to an encrypted system is a piece of information that unlocks the data, and it is only as secure as the protections around it. Once the information is known, or a way to bypass the code is revealed, the encryption can be defeated by anyone with that knowledge.
The government suggests this tool could only be used once, on one phone. But that’s simply not true. Once created, the technique could be used over and over again, on any number of devices. In the physical world, it would be the equivalent of a master key, capable of opening hundreds of millions of locks — from restaurants and banks to stores and homes. No reasonable person would find that acceptable.
It would be wrong for the government to force Apple to build a backdoor into their products. And ultimately, Apple fears that this demand would undermine the very freedoms and liberty that our government is meant to protect.
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